I was a big fan of Joey Graham at Oklahoma State, and I still am a fan of him, but I expected him to make a bigger impact at this point (halfway through his sophomore year). He is a good defender, he's extremely athletic, he's strong, he's tough minded, his shooting ability needs work but it is not horrible, and he can drive to the basket. I don't watch him/Toronto as much as you do, but I have seen them a fair amount this year, and I am not impressed/satisfied with Joey Graham's slow development thus far. He has potential to be a good player in the NBA, a very solid starter. I know it's only his second year, maybe I'm putting too much pressure on him and maybe I'm setting the bar higher than it should, but he definitely should be making more of an impact than he is. Your thoughts on Joey Graham, his development, and his future?
I don't think you are putting the bar too high for him. Cause me as well thought he would be a better impact. This year he's had some good games but has died of so far since Mo Pete is back. His days in Oklahoma were good. He's a good defender and a great shooter. But so far he hasn't really showed us that and has struggled in doing what he did in Oklahoma. Now I regret drafting him over Danny Granger. But in the future I believe at most he can only be like a 10ppg player and a couple of boards. A positive note for him this year is that he has bulked up and gotten a lot stronger and is able to bully people inside the paint. Other then that he still needs to improve. It looks to me his brother Stephen is better then him :HAHAHA: as he's in the NBDL all star game.
Well first of all, he hasn't played alot. He has alot of energy, and Sam mitchell puts him in when the Raps need to boost up there energy and wake them up. I think he should play more.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (_Raptors_ @ Feb 10 2007, 05:37 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Well first of all, he hasn't played alot. He has alot of energy, and Sam mitchell puts him in when the Raps need to boost up there energy and wake them up. I think he should play more.</div>He's been given a lot of playing time when Mo Pete was out with his arm injury. He's had many games that were up and down. But he had a lot of foul problems. And I guess, cause Mitchell doesn't want him to get 6 fouls and put the other team on the line and make them get free points so the game would be tighter then normal.
I've seen him play like twice, but he seems like a guy you'd want on your team, just for 15-20 mintues a game for energy, hustle, defense and rebounding.
I never saw him as an NBA starter. I see him maxing out at like 13ppg, a couple of rebs and an ast or two. That is just what I have seen of him, which is limited.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (CelticBalla32 @ Feb 10 2007, 04:50 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I was a big fan of Joey Graham at Oklahoma State, and I still am a fan of him, but I expected him to make a bigger impact at this point (halfway through his sophomore year). He is a good defender, he's extremely athletic, he's strong, he's tough minded, his shooting ability needs work but it is not horrible, and he can drive to the basket. I don't watch him/Toronto as much as you do, but I have seen them a fair amount this year, and I am not impressed/satisfied with Joey Graham's slow development thus far. He has potential to be a good player in the NBA, a very solid starter. I know it's only his second year, maybe I'm putting too much pressure on him and maybe I'm setting the bar higher than it should, but he definitely should be making more of an impact than he is.Your thoughts on Joey Graham, his development, and his future?</div>The problem with Joey Graham is he is to inconsistent. He can drop 18 then go scoreless the next game. He has made strides but as soon as he takes a step forward he ends up taking the step right back. Joey needs to develop a killer instinct, he needs to go out there more agressive, he is a big dude he could intimiate anyone on the floor. Remember this guy was benching over 300 pounds in high school thats insane.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (HoNgKoNgKoBe @ Feb 10 2007, 05:14 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I don't think you are putting the bar too high for him. Cause me as well thought he would be a better impact. This year he's had some good games but has died of so far since Mo Pete is back. His days in Oklahoma were good. He's a good defender and a great shooter. But so far he hasn't really showed us that and has struggled in doing what he did in Oklahoma. Now I regret drafting him over Danny Granger. But in the future I believe at most he can only be like a 10ppg player and a couple of boards. A positive note for him this year is that he has bulked up and gotten a lot stronger and is able to bully people inside the paint. Other then that he still needs to improve. It looks to me his brother Stephen is better then him :HAHAHA: as he's in the NBDL all star game.</div> Picking Graham over Granger was a mistake from the start, and drafting Graham over Gerald Green could turn out to be a mistake as well (Green still has star potential). But at most, you think Graham will only turn out to be a 10 point a night player? I disagree, I still think he has potential to put up more than that, but he needs to prove something.
Ive always why Joey never used his amazing strength advantage, this guy is total and complete beast, he is so huge! But somehow, he never drives to the bucket, decides not to post up, and doesn't shoot well from the free throw line. He is very inconsistent, and can work on his defence. He is a hard worker, but something is going wrong at practice, because he doesn't seem to be improving.
I think he's been playing pretty well this year actually. The defense that he had at Ok. St. isn't there yet. But he's been doing some good things. He's very tough, he can get O. rebs every once in a while. He doesn't have great range, but his mid range is alright. And he is very aggressive, and he can take it to the hole. And he can score downlow too. I think he can be a pretty key component for us down the road. He won't ever be a starter starter for this team, but I think he can be a pretty good hustle and grit guy for us down the road.Youve got to keep in mind that he only averages 16 mins a game...
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (CelticBalla32 @ Feb 10 2007, 07:32 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Picking Graham over Granger was a mistake from the start, and drafting Graham over Gerald Green could turn out to be a mistake as well (Green still has star potential). But at most, you think Graham will only turn out to be a 10 point a night player? I disagree, I still think he has potential to put up more than that, but he needs to prove something.</div>You are mistaken. Trust me. He won't start for us. He's not as much as a key component as you think he is...
Graham has an NBA body, and I've seen him do pretty well a few times this season. He's a great guy, but he's not that great at creating the shot for himself. He's a good rebounder, he'll rack up quite a few when he gets played. I love his character and how he always keeps working on his game, whether it's with Toronto or not he does have a future in this league. I can't see him being a great player but hopefully he finds a home.
He is what I expected him to be, basically. He's a mid first round pick from what was basically a weak draft. He's a reserve that gives you 12-20 minutes a night depending on how productive he is. He's got the NBA body, but as has been said here already he's too inconsistent to be relied upon by his coach. I think he'll be in the league for a while because he's athletic enough to have an impact as long as he's able to stay healthy and productive. I don't see Graham as a starter. He's best served as a backup small forward.With that said, I think Granger would have been a better pick. He's a better shooter and rebounder, but the Raps had injury concerns with him as did many other teams.
